Remnant of Azure
by flashsheath
Summary: The Wheel of Fate turns at Beacon Academy as they welcome in this year's new batch of students. Oil is poured on the fire when a boy motivated only by revenge, a painfully shy girl resembling the one he swore to save, a boy more interested in women than becoming a Hunter, and a girl who has known nothing except combat join the original cast of RWBY in their first tumultuous year.
1. Rebel 1: Nostalgia's Red

**Rebel 1: Nostalgia's Red**

The sound of crackling flames and the stench of ash filled the air. Although it was in the middle of winter, the heat of the inferno around the boy made it uncomfortably hot. He pushed himself up with his left hand, struggling to do so. The blood loss was getting to him. A few strands of blond hair fell down in front of his face, sticking to the sweat that dampened his brow.

(_This is…just a dream…_)

"Jin! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

The boy screamed into the night as he fought to keep his head up and maintain eye contact with the other child in front of him. Like the boy, he also had blonde hair, but it was neatly cut in a manner that contrasted sharply with the boy's own unkempt, spiky style. The child he had called "Jin" had a natural elegance about him which could be described as noble. At least, that would have been the case if he wasn't wearing a crescent-shaped grin which nearly split his face in two. Although the two boys looked very different from one another, they were brothers.

(_This is…just a dream…_)

The two weren't alone inside the burning building. A small girl stood next to Jin. She appeared sickly, standing unsteadily on her feet. Like the two brothers, she had blonde hair. Her green eyes were half-obscured by her eyelids, as if she was having trouble keeping them open. Her features were similar enough to Jin's that most people were immediately able to tell the two were siblings. Of course, that also meant that she was the boy's sister.

"Saya…"

(_This is just a dream!_)

There was one last person there with the three children. The boy didn't recognize him. Green hair which stuck straight up, golden eyes which lacked any hint of compassion, and a grin so twisted that it made the one on Jin's face pale in comparison. Everything about the man standing there screamed "bad news."

"Oh? Still alive there? Tenacious little brat…"

The man spoke in a mocking tone, clearly relishing every moment. He seemed completely unconcerned with the fact that the building around them was slowly collapsing.

"You know…you don't look so good. How about I give you a hand?"

The man tossed something to the ground in front of the boy. Then, he shook his hands vigorously in the air as if he were trying to fling some filth off them. The boy looked down. What lay there was a severed human arm. A right arm. _His_ right arm. The man threw his head back and laughed at the boy's horrified expression. The boy's screams of rage and anguish only served to intensify the maniacal quality of the man's glee.

As the world fell apart around the boy, the crimson flames rose higher into the night sky…

* * *

"Aaaaaaghh!"

Quite a few people jumped when Ragna woke up with a start. Looking around for a moment to regain his bearings, he realized that he had dozed off during the flight. His breathing was ragged and sweat coated his face and drenched his collar. When they realized that nothing was going on, the people around him, new students heading to the same school as him, shot him dirty glares and returned their attention to the hologram which was addressing them all.

The projection, of a stern looking blonde woman, continued her speech as if she had never been interrupted. It seemed that it was a pre-recorded message. Ragna listened to the speech briefly, something about hunters, huntresses, and duty, before turning his attention back to his own status.

(_Damn it! I hate having that dream!_)

He flexed his right hand. Enclosed in black wrappings which didn't affect his range of movement, his arm was firmly attached to his shoulder, unlike in his nightmare. The boy scowled when he recalled the vividness of the dream. Some of the other prospective students near him shied away when they noticed the expression on his face. However, there were a few who didn't.

One in particular caught his attention, a boy his age who was staggering around with his hands over his mouth. Ragna quickly moved to the side, putting some distance between him and the young man who clearly was about to puke. He had few enough changes of clothing as it was, he didn't need to get vomit on one of the few clean outfits he had left.

It seemed as the two girls who had been standing near the starboard windows had the same idea as him.

"Get away from me! Get away from me!"

The girl who was wearing a black dress and a red hooded cape ran around in a large circle as the boy continued to stagger about. Something was dripping onto the floor as the boy moved, making it very obvious why the girl was screaming and trying to avoid him.

(_Strange, she looks younger than everyone else here. But Master said that everyone attending this school was strong—I guess appearances aren't everything._)

After another minute or so, the ship began to slow down and an announcement came over the loudspeaker informing the students to prepare to disembark. Ragna got in line, coincidentally behind one of the two girls he had seen early by the windows. She had voluminous blonde hair and wore a brown vest, yellow scarf, and some sort of half-skirt over her shorts. She was chatting amicably with the girl who had been scrambling around trying to avoid "vomit boy" earlier. From the pieces of their conversation which he overheard, Ragna learned that the two were sisters.

(_They look nothing alike. And speaking of vomit boy—_)

The boy who had been the source of much unpleasantness over the last few minutes for many of the students on the transport rushed past everyone to the front of the line. No one complained that he was cutting; in fact, everyone gave him a wide berth.

Ignoring the sounds of retching coming from the side as he stepped out onto solid ground at last, Ragna looked up at the building that was to be his home for the next few years. The first word which came to mind when he saw Beacon Academy was extravagant. He had been living in the wilds with his master for the past five years, training to become stronger. This place seemed wrong to him. It was too clean, too…storybook. It certainly didn't look like the sort of place where he could obtain the strength needed to find his sister and exact his revenge. Scowling once more, he set off towards the school, doubts already forming in his mind about attending.

* * *

"So, that's him?"

Glynda Goodwitch directed her question to the man standing by the window. Although he carried a cane, the headmaster of the school, Ozpin, gave the impression that he was half of his actual age. His tussled gray hair was the only indicator of his true age, a secret to which not even Glynda was privy.

"That's him."

Ozpin answered her question without further elaborating. Given the topic of their earlier conversation, there was only one person who "him" could refer to.

"I don't like this. You're making too many exceptions for the entrants this year. First him and then Miss Rose. Not to mention the boy's record is extremely sparse…nonexistent, even," Glynda remarked as she tapped away at the portable information terminal in front of her.

Called a "scroll," it allowed her access to a remarkable breadth of information. Information that didn't seem to include anything at all on the boy the headmaster seemed to have no qualms about letting into his school. It was troubling...no matter who you were, there had to be some sort of data on you. It was almost as if this child, "Ragna," didn't actually exist.

"It's not like the boy is some wanted terrorist with a bounty on his head," Ozpin answered calmly. "Besides, I can't exactly say no to a request from one of the heroes of 'The War,' now can I?"

Glynda knew that Ozpin could very well have said no to a hero of The War, being who he was. But he also had a point; Jubei was a legend even amongst the distinguished figures of The War. Glynda had been visibly shaken when he had appeared silently out of thin air in the headmaster's office two weeks ago as she was delivering a status report. That someone who had fought a century ago could still be alive and kicking was a surprise to her. That the legendary warrior who had slain countless Grimm single-handedly and was rumored to have the fighting power equal to a full company of hunters and huntresses was a small cat-type Faunus who bore more animal traits than human ones…unthinkable.

"Be that as it may," Glynda replied, "I still don't think it is wise to let someone we know absolutely nothing about join the academy."

Ozpin took a sip from the coffee mug he always seemed to be carrying about before answering her. "Jubei and I go back a long ways. He's a trustworthy man, an honorable one. If he's vouching for the boy, I have no reason to doubt him. Besides, you'll recall that he wasn't the only one to give his recommendation."

"You mean that letter from the heiress of the Alucard family?" Glynda asked, raising an eyebrow.

She tapped a few more buttons on the scroll, bringing up a copy of the note. The contents of the letter were handwritten in an elegantly flowing script and bore the seal of the Alucard family at the bottom.

"To my dear Headmaster Ozpin," Glynda read verbatim, "I am writing as the sponsor of the boy who the carrier of this letter will be vouching for. Uncouth as the child may be, and foul-mouthed and vile as his mannerisms are, I am forced to grudgingly admit that he does indeed have the necessary physical requirements befitting a student of Beacon. Whether his mental faculties are up to par is another matter and one I feel is best left to the esteemed professors at your facility to determine. And so, let it be known that I, Rachel Alucard, vouch for the knave known as 'Ragna,' will bear the costs of his education, and request his admittance to your prestigious academy."

The letter was signed at the bottom in the same graceful handwriting as the rest of the message. Glynda turned off her scroll and stashed it away. If that was a letter of recommendation, it was certainly an interesting one. Then again, the rich and powerful could be eccentric, and no one would dispute the Alucard family wasn't both.

"That's the one," Ozpin replied, taking another swig from his mug. "I've had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Alucard on several occasions and her penchant for dignified insults seems to be the way she shows…affection."

Glynda shook her head but accepted the headmaster's decision. Still, she couldn't help but feel as if they had just let a time bomb enter their school.

* * *

Ruby Rose was having a bad day. First, she had barely avoided getting vomit over her clothes on the transport coming into Beacon. Then, her sister had run off with her friends, leaving her alone in a completely unfamiliar area. And to top things off, she had accidentally caused an explosion and gotten some strange, fast-talking, demanding, rich-looking girl angry with her. What was her name again? Weiss?

Groaning, she dropped to her back as if she was going to take a nap in the middle of the square leading to Beacon. She had just gotten to the academy and she was already feeling out of place and more than just a little homesick. She closed her eyes for a moment.

A shadow fell over her face. Opening her eyes, she saw a young man standing over her.

"Hey," he said, sounding a little nervous. Then, with a more confidence, he added, "I'm Jaune."

Ruby took his proffered hand. "Ruby," she replied, as he helped her to her feet. A few pieces clicked together in her mind. "Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

Quickly, when Jaune wasn't looking, she wiped her hands on her cape and gave them a quick sniff. Well, it didn't smell like she got anything on them. But better safe than sorry.

The two of them wandered about the schoolyard. Jeanne seemed to know where he was heading, so Ruby followed along beside him. They talked for a bit, though most of the time was spent with Jaune explaining exactly why it wasn't that odd for someone to get motion sickness. Ruby personally agreed with him, but he was so insistent on redeeming himself that it was actually somewhat cute. The conversation took a bit of an uncomfortable turn when he pointed out that she'd probably messed up her chance to make a good first impression on everyone by exploding.

(_It was only a tiny explosion! And half of it wasn't even my fault!_)

It took her a second to realize that Jaune was only teasing her. In an effort to hide her embarrassment and to dispel the awkward air between them (not that Jaune's ramblings weren't amusing in the same way a puppy chasing its tail was,) Ruby drew her weapon and engaged it. It a split second, the compact device expanded into its scythe form with a few mechanical clicks. The blade struck the ground with a loud clang, causing Jaune to jump back slightly.

"Is that a scythe?" he asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

Ruby couldn't help it. She loved weapons. Before she knew it, she launched into a monologue about the sniper-rifle function of her weapon and was patting Crescent Rose fondly on the handle. Noticing that Jaune looked a little uneasy, she realized that she was, as Yang would call it, "geeking out again."

"Um, so what do you have?"

Ruby directed a question to Jaune, partially to include him in the conversation, but mostly because she was curious. Jaune answered her by showing her the sword and shield combination that his great great grandfather had passed down to him. He seemed rather ashamed of it, but Ruby had no idea why. Weapons were just cool, regardless of how complex they were. In fact, she actually found it impressive that Jaune's heirloom was in pristine condition after all those years of use. If weapons could speak, the one Jaune wore at his side must have one heck of a tale to tell.

Suddenly aware that she had no idea where they were, Ruby turned to Jaune, "Hey, where are we going?"

"I was following you," Jaune replied. "Do you think we're lost?"

(_Well, I guess we can backtrack…_)

"Let's ask that girl over there," Jaune said, pointing in front of them. "She can probably give us directions."

The girl Jaune had been referring to was lying on her back atop the grass just off the path Ruby and Jaune were heading down. She jumped to her feet and dropped down into a fighting pose the moment they got near before doing a second take and relaxing.

"Sorry about that," she apologized. "Force of habit."

The girl in front of them reminded Ruby of her sister. For one, she wore a heavy gauntlet over her left arm which looked a lot like Yang's 'Ember Celica' when it was engaged. Their heights were about the same too. Ruby caught sight of Jaune staring at the girl's chest. Oh yeah, that part about her was similar to Yang as well. She was wearing a black jacket over a white undershirt and had a pair of denim shorts on which were…cut very daringly. Ruby almost felt embarrassed just for looking. Aside from her main outfit, she also wore a single belt, the tail of which extended down near her metal-plated boots.

"Done staring?" Ruby whispered, elbowing Jaune in the ribs. Asking for directions was his idea, so he should do it.

"Oh! Um…" Jaune enunciated, snapping to his senses. His face was quite red. "D-do you know how to get to the dorms from here?"

"Let's see," the girl said, looking up at the sky. The light reflecting off her silver hair was almost blinding. "The sun's over there, which means we're on the west side of the building. But I guess that doesn't matter since it'll be quicker to go through the school building itself."

She pointed to a door across from them. Jaune thanked the girl and walked over to the side entrance. He pulled at the handle, but it didn't budge. Ruby gave it a try as well, but the door seemed to be locked rather than jammed.

"Can't get it open?"

Ruby turned around to see the girl who had pointed out the door to them. Apparently, she had come over to take a look when she noticed the two of them struggling.

"Here, stand to the side for a second," she said. When Jaune took a little too long to move out of the way, she grabbed him by the shoulders, lifted him up, and set him to the side.

(_Yep, she's definitely very similar to Yang._)

The girl studied the lock for a brief moment before opening a compartment in the side of her gauntlet and rummaging around.

(_Is she going to pick the lock? Isn't that a little rash?_)

Apparently locating what she wanted, the girl placed what looked like a wad of chewing gum onto the door near the handle and pressed a small box into the gunk.

"What's that?" Jaune asked as he leaned in for a better look, clearly curious.

"Just some Crimson-Four," the girl replied calmly. "There's two types of doors in this world. The ones that are unlocked, and the ones that you need to unlock yourself."

(_Crimson-Four…where have I heard that befo…_)

With a start, Ruby realized exactly where she had heard that term before. It was during a class back when she was a student at Signal Academy. To be more specific, it was during a class on how it was possible to refine Dust into…

"You can't use high-yield explosives to get into the building!" Ruby screamed as she pulled the other girl back by the collar of her jacket.

"Why not?" the girl asked, clearly puzzled. "It's the most efficient way of getting inside from our current position."

"Are you trying to get arrested?" Ruby asked.

"No, I'm trying to get us inside the academy," the girl replied, looking completely serious. "Now if you'll just back away for one second, I can finish setting up."

"Nononono!" Ruby exclaimed, dragging the girl further away from the door. "We're going to backtrack and go in from the main entrance!"

Ruby stalked off with the girl in tow. She couldn't trust her not to go back and actually follow through with blowing up the door. After a moment, Jaune raced to catch up, all the while wearing an expression of extreme confusion.

* * *

"Ruby! Over here!"

Yang waved empathetically when she noticed her younger sister entering the hall with two other students. She quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Her sister was a bit awkward when meeting new people for the first time so she didn't have many friends. Yang had run off by herself and left Ruby alone in an effort to force her to reach out to others. Of course, she felt a little guilty about abandoning her sister like that, but it seemed like everything had worked out in the end.

Ruby waved goodbye to the two people accompanying her and waltzed over.

"How's your first day going, little sister?"

Ruby gave her a glare. "You mean since you ditched me?"

(_Well, that could have gone better… Seems like she's holding a grudge._)

"It can't have been that bad, right?" Yang asked cheerfully. "It looks like you made a few friends…"

"Let's see," Ruby replied, counting off on her fingers. "First I blew up, then some girl yelled at me, then I got lost, and then I almost became an accomplice in a terrorist action!"

(_Yikes._)

"Well, at least you can't say it was boring," Yang said clapping a hand on her sister's shoulder. "What's this about blowing up? Having a meltdown already?"

Ruby launched into an explanation about what had transpired since Yang left. But as she was explaining, a white-haired girl butted in, admonishing her sister for almost killing the two of them. Yang wasn't sure what to make of it, but she did feel a renewed sense of guilt for running off. After a minute or two, she decided that it would be better to interrupt them before the girl, apparently named Weiss, made Ruby break out into tears.

"Well, why don't you two start over? You know, be friends?" Yang suggested.

"Yeah! That's a great idea," Ruby chimed in happily, shooting Yang a look of gratitude before extending a hand out towards Weiss. "Hello Weiss. I'm Ruby, let's be friends."

Weiss responded, "Yeah, we can hang out and go to the mall and paint our nails and…"

Ruby, being the innocent little girl she was, didn't catch the obvious sarcasm in Weiss's tone. Yang made a mental note to teach her sister a few things about the world in the near future.

(_Still, that girl doesn't need to be such a bitch about it. Ruby's only trying to be nice._)

Just as Yang opened her mouth to give Weiss a piece of her mind, someone else intervened. Stepping between the two girls and placing a hand on each's shoulder, a young man leaned in with a grin on his face.

"Now now, ladies. You should play nicely with one another," he said soothingly in a suave voice. Looking at Weiss, he added, "Especially you, heiress of the Schnee Corporation. Wouldn't want wrinkles forming on that pretty face prematurely, now would we? Life's too short to get worked up over every little thing." After a brief pause of contemplation, he offered, "Tell you what, why don't we go out for dinner after this, my treat?"

Weiss gave a snort of derision, "As if." But she seemed less agitated when she gave Ruby one last look before walking away.

Watching the white-haired girl stalk off, the newcomer muttered, "No go, huh? Oh well, can't win 'em all." He turned towards Yang and gave her a wink, "The name's Kagura. And here I was worrying that there wouldn't be any astonishing beauties at Beacon Academy. I'm glad I was wrong."

"I'm Yang," Yang introduced, "and this is my sister, Ruby."

Kagura was tall, almost a half a head taller than Yang, and looked rather slender, although that was likely an illusion created by his height. He had straight black hair with two long bangs that came down to his chin, framing his face. His hair was unkempt in the back, but rather than a product of neglect, it seemed to have been styled in that manner. He wore a blue and white jacket and black pants; a uniform from an academy which wasn't based in Vale. Yang noticed, and approved of, how he left the top half of his uniform unbuttoned, revealing toned muscle.

"Yang, huh?" Kagura mused, his gaze scanning downwards appraisingly before returning to meet Yang's eyes. "That has a nice ring to it. What do you say to getting better acquainted after the headmaster's announcement? Just the two of us?"

"Do you always ask girls out immediately after meeting them?" Yang asked skeptically. However, she was careful to keep just a hint of a smile on her face to suggest that she _might_ be persuaded to go. After all, it wasn't as if he wasn't her type.

"Just the cute ones," Kagura admitted shamelessly while wearing a cocky grin on his face, causing Yang to laugh.

Before Yang could give a response, microphone feedback filled the room. Since it was completely unexpected, Yang winced for a second. Before long, everyone's attention turned to the front of the hall where Professor Ozpin had appeared.

"I'll keep this brief," he began, "You have travelled here today…"

Yang listened to the man's speech, but when he began to talk about "seeing only wasted energy" when looking at them, it was hard to tell if he was being serious. Just then, the double doors at the back of the hall burst open, and a girl stumbled in, tripped over her own feet, and landed on her knees.

"Sorry, I got lost," she exclaimed meekly, looking near to tears as she brushed herself off and joined the crowd of students, hunching her shoulders in an effort to hide herself better in the crowd.

If he noticed at all, and it was hard to believe he hadn't, Ozpin gave no indication of it, continuing his speech without pause. When he was finished, a woman took the stage. Yang recognized her as Glynda Goodwitch, one of the most famous huntresses in the world.

"Two orders of business. First, you will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins," she stated. "Second, if anyone is aware of any recent suspicious activity or of the…package…left by the western side-entrance to the academy, please report to myself or one of the other professors at the school. You are dismissed."

Yang noticed her little sister squirming around when the woman mentioned the package left by the entrance.

(_Ah, that's what she meant by terrorist action…_)

"Um, Ruby, you wouldn't happen to know anything ab—," Yang began.

"Nope! Sorry. Nothing at all!" her sister replied quickly, interrupting her before Yang could finish speaking.

With a nervous laugh, Ruby turned on her heels and fled out of the hall, using her Semblance to move so quickly that it was hard to track her. Chasing after her would have been pointless considering how fast Ruby was, so Yang turned instead to the young man who was standing next to her.

"So, playboy…" Yang suggested to Kagura flirtatiously, flipping her hair with a hand, "you going to lead or what?"

* * *

Blake Belladonna sat by herself in one corner of the room, as far away from the chaos and noise as she could. She had a book in one hand and was enjoying a story about one man's struggle for identity with two souls locked within his body when the sound of someone approaching made her lift her eyes from the novel's pages.

"Um…is it ok if I sit here? I promise I won't bother you, it's just that it's too noisy over there."

Blake recognized the girl as the one who had arrived late for Professor Ozpin's speech. She had blonde hair which came down to her shoulders, green eyes, and a petite frame. Her pajamas consisted of a light-blue cotton panda-print shirt and matching pants. The girl was pointing back towards the center of the room where half-naked boys were wrestling with one another while a majority of the girls looked on with interest. Blake got the impression from the girl's tightly shut eyes as she pointed that she had led an innocent and sheltered life before arriving at Beacon.

"Go ahead," Blake answered before returning to her book.

There was a sigh of relief and a muffled thump as the girl sat down a few feet away from Blake. "I'm Noel. Noel Vermillion."

"Blake."

It was rude not to give a name in reply to an introduction, so Blake did so without looking up from her reading. She was aware that it was probably nerve-racking for Noel to sit in silence and, every so often, the girl would make small noises as if she wanted to say something before thinking better of it. Blake's impression of the girl went up a little; she was clearly trying to keep her promise not to bother her.

The near-solitude was nice, but Blake's plan for a quiet evening was rudely shattered not long afterwards—

"Saya!?"

—By a rough-looking boy with spiky white hair. His heterochromatic eyes were wide open and his expression was one of disbelief. He wore a red and black sleeveless tunic, baggy black pants, and black gloves. What appeared to be black bindings snaked up the entire length of his right arm, ending just below his shoulder. He got down to one knee and grabbed Noel's shoulder roughly with his left hand.

"W-wha?"

The girl looked terrified as he studied her features, scowling all the while and muttering to himself. Although his words were probably not meant for others, Blake's hearing was better than most and she caught a few phrases such as "impossible" and "what the hell is going on?" Noel, for her part, was trembling, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Blake couldn't blame her, while the boy's words were those of someone in confusion, his expression screamed "bloody murder."

"W-who's Saya?" Noel asked, finally managing to speak properly.

The boy's brows furrowed even further in agitation. Before he could muster a response, someone else joined in the conversation. Blake shook her head and sighed. Her quiet time had just gone out the window.

"Is this some new way of hitting on girls?" another male remarked, half-jokingly. "Because if it is, it's kind of…lame."

"Shut the hell up and stay out of my business," the white-haired boy growled, twisting around to look at the speaker.

The newcomer was accompanying two other girls, one of whom Blake recognized as the one who had set off a Dust explosion with a sneeze in front of the school. While the two boys squared off, the girls approached Blake and the taller one shoved the smaller one in front.

"I believe you two may know one another?" the blonde one asked with a broad smile on her face.

She seemed like the extremely outgoing type, the sort who could be dumped into a roomful of strangers and walk out ten minutes later with a dozen new friends. Blake normally didn't mind interacting with others but sometimes, and this was one of those times, she just wanted to be left alone.

The two girls introduced themselves, forcing Blake gave her name as well. They, mostly Yang, kept trying to make small talk, to which Blake replied with the briefest possible answer. It didn't look like she was going to take a hint anytime soon. Blake decided to be a little less discrete and seized the next opportunity to suggest that she really wanted to get back to reading and that she couldn't do so if Yang kept pestering her.

The plan worked, in a sense. Yang finally relented and looked like she was about to leave, but Blake didn't count on the other girl, Ruby, taking interest in the change of topic.

(_So she wants to become a huntress because of the stories she heard growing up, huh? That's a nice dream…but…_)

"Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairytale."

Blake couldn't keep the melancholy from slipping into her words as she said them. Her experiences told her that it was impossible for there to ever be no sources of conflict. The Faunus Rights Movement, the White Fang… even if those problems were magically resolved today, something new would crop up. And speaking of conflict…

"I said, 'stay outta my way!'" the white-haired boy roared.

The one-sided conversation with the two sisters had caused Blake to momentarily forget about the bickering parties nearby. Things had taken a turn for the worse in the meantime.

"Oh? Going to get violent? That's just fine by me," the other young man replied with a smirk as he dropped into a fighting stance. He waved his hand in a "come at me" gesture. "Bring it on!"

"Kagura! Cut it out!" Yang shouted. "Do you want to get expelled before initiation even begins?"

She quickly walked over to the feuding boys and delivered a solid smack to the back of Kagura's head. It sounded like she hit him pretty hard and Kagura's head rocked forwards in response to the blow, but he recovered quickly and laughed it off.

"Worried about me, cutie?" he replied. "Don't fret. I can't let you be the only one that doesn't back down from a fight, you know. Besides, this ass has been asking for it the past five minutes."

(_Ugh, this is going to be a major headache. Can't they take it somewhere else?_)

"That does it. You're going to regret those words," the white-haired boy exclaimed. Like Kagura, he also entered a fighting pose, his left arm bent in front of him to guard while his right arm was extended behind him. A menacing aura (or perhaps Aura might be more appropriate) emanated from him and was met halfway by the fighting spirit that Kagura was emitting.

"Stop it, you two!"

Noel's high pitched voice cut into the tense atmosphere as she got to her feet and intervened by grabbing the boy's extended arm. A look of concern sudden came over his face as she did so, but it was quickly replaced with anger. The boy swung his arm violently, shaking Noel off and causing her to fall to her knees.

"Don't touch me," he growled.

There was something else in his voice as well. Blake couldn't quite place it. Was it fear? Worry? Whatever it was, it didn't make sense to Blake considering the animosity which was plain on his face. Still, Noel's actions seemed to have diffused the situation as the boy shot Kagura one final scathing look before stalking off to another corner of the room. A small crowd of onlookers had gathered, but they parted as the boy drew near, no doubt subconsciously staying as far away from the murderous intent flowing from him as they could.

"What's his problem?" Kagura muttered. Then, extending a hand to Noel, he asked her, "Are you alright?"

"I-I think I'm just going to sit here for a little bit," she answered, refusing his hand. "I'm feeling a little…tired. Thanks though."

Blake thought that "tired" was an understatement. Noel looked rather pale and disoriented. It must be hard, she decided, having people bother you when all you want is to have a little time to yourself. Then, smiling slightly, she conceded that that thought was probably because she was in the same position.

(_Well, at least things have calmed down a bit. I can get back to reading..._)

Blake flipped through the pages of her book and found where she had left off.

"_If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also_."

* * *

AN: I came up with this idea from a string of conversations with other fan-fic authors. The characters in this fic are the products of Arc-System Works and the team at Rooster Teeth's efforts. Insert various "I don't own" disclaimers here for tradition's sake.

This fic will take place entirely in the RWBY universe, that is, Remnant. The Blazblue characters who appear will all have been residents of the various locations on Remnant and while much of their backstories will be the same or similar to what they were in the BB-verse, there will be changes. As such, please don't expect that power-tiers from Blazblue will necessarily carry over or that the character's relative ages will be the same as they were there (though with Kagura being about the same age as Ragna here, it should have been obvious.) Powers and abilities from Blazblue will be adapted to fit with what is known about how things work in RWBY whenever possible.

All that being said, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. If you have any comments or concerns with how characters are portrayed, please feel free to voice them in a review.


	2. Rebel 2: Discord's White

**Rebel 2: Discord's White**

"It seems that we have arrived too late, Valkenhayn. They have burned the facility to the ground to hide their tracks."

A young girl's muffled voice cut deeply into Ragna's consciousness, causing him to stir. The ground beneath him felt damp, it seemed he had been sweating profusely. He couldn't have been out long, or at least, that was what he felt. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed as his eyes to clear his head. It took him a moment to realize that he was propping himself up with his right arm. But before he lost consciousness, Ragna could plainly remember crawling towards something, leaving a trail of blood which flowed from the stump of that very arm.

It took his eyes a minute to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, he saw that he had made his way quite far from where he had seen the green-haired man walking off with Saya and Jin in tow. A name burned in his mind as he recalled the sadistic glee the man had displayed as he turned and left Ragna for dead.

"Terumi…" Ragna growled, clenching his hands into fists.

Something dug into the palm of his right hand and he looked down to see what it was. When he found out, Ragna recoiled in surprise. His arm had turned jet-black, so dark that it seemed to drain what little light was present in the room. The dim-red pulsating vein-like lines running the length of his arm didn't seem to add any light to the surroundings. Unclenching his fist, Ragna noted that his fingertips ended in claws.

"Aaagh! What the hell is going on!?"

Ragna screamed and swung his arm outwards. Black mist coalesced in the wake of his movement, sending a dark, shadowy form outwards where it collided with the far wall and left an impact crater. Rubble and debris showered down from the ceiling and it was then that Ragna realized that he was in a very precarious situation.

"It seems there is a survivor. Valkenhayn, clear out the debris, if you would."

"As you wish, Milady."

Ragna heard a brief conversation coming from beyond the wall behind him. It was followed shortly afterwards by loud impacts and the crumbling of rocks, brick, and mortar. More dust and dirt drifted down from the ceiling and Ragna was suddenly struck with the thought of the roof caving in before whoever was on the other side broke through. What were they using anyway? A sledge-hammer?

After a few terrifying moments, the wall crumbled inwards, causing Ragna to fall backwards onto his rear. A tall man with a long, elegant ponytail stood on the other side of the opening. After dusting off his white gloves, he stepped to the side and gave a small bow, making way for a girl in a frilly black dress.

"Who—?" Ragna asked, stumbling over the words. A light breeze from outside cleared his lungs and the brightness of the sun outside caused him to squint his eyes in pain.

"When asking for a name, it is proper to give your own first," the girl admonished. She had an elegant way of speaking which suggested she was someone of high social standing.

"Ragna. My name is Ragna," he answered. "Now give me yours."

"Insolent pup! You dare speak in such a—"

The man who was accompanying the girl interjected angrily before she stopped him with an outstretched hand. He glared at Ragna for a second longer before relenting and stepping back once more.

"I am Rachel Alucard. It pains me to think that an uncultured and barbaric-looking ruffian such as yourself might address me with familiarity, so I request that you please refrain from using my name unless absolutely necessary," the girl replied. "Now then, tell me. What transpired here?"

Ragna's eyebrows twitched in agitation. "Screw you, rabbit!"

"Rabbit?" Rachel inquired. She seemed rather amused by the term.

"The ribbons you're wearing," Ragna explained. "But forget about that! What the hell is going on? Where's that bastard, Terumi?"

Rachel seemed shaken upon hearing the name, but she recovered so quickly that it was impossible to tell for sure.

"It seems our information was correct, Valkenhayn," she said to the man standing next to her. "_He_ is behind this incident."

A burst of violent intent exploded out from Valkenhayn. There was a bestial quality to it, a rage so primal that it did not seem human. Ragna was glad that it wasn't directed at him.

"Calm yourself, Valkenhayn. He is no longer present," Rachel continued. "There is no point in frightening this child more than you have to." Then, turning to Ragna, she mused, "Now the question remains. What shall we do with you? If you would like, I can have Valkenhayn collapse the wall behind us and leave you be. Or…"

That first option didn't sound too appealing to Ragna. "Or what?" he growled, causing Valkenhayn to shoot him an angry glare.

"Or, we can take you with us," Rachel answered simply. "I am your savior. There is no question that you owe me substantially." Raising her hand and pointing directly at Ragna, she declared, "You will be my servant."

Her vantage point on top of a pile of rubble combined with the fact that Ragna was sitting on the ground meant that, even though the girl was considerably shorter than he was, he had to look up towards her. The sun was at her back, making it impossible to see her expression. A sudden breeze lifted the twin tails of her hair and caused her the hem of her dress to flutter.

Ragna gave his answer, causing the girl to laugh daintily into her fist.

* * *

Jaune Arc thought the day was off to a decent start. Breakfast was pancakes. Those were always good. Sure, they were a little on the bland and tasteless side, but add enough syrup and you couldn't tell the difference. Many of the other students were talked animatedly about who they wanted to be on their team.

(_Oh yeah, teams. I need to find some people. But how? I'm not even supposed to be here…_)

Jaune sighed. After a having a whole day to think about it, faking his transcripts to get into Beacon seemed like a really stupid idea. Well, it was stupid to begin with, but more stupid than it had been just a day ago. Everyone else just seemed so confident. Maybe he could find someone strong to tag along with until he improved.

Someone sat down next to him at the table, muttering "Damn it. I should have woken up earlier, all the cute girls are done eating..."

The newcomer stifled a yawn and scratched the back of his head before jabbing a fork into his stack of pancakes. Jaune recognized him in passing from the headmaster's announcement; he was the one who had intervened when Ruby and that other girl had been arguing.

"Good morning," Jaune said, "I'm Jaune. I don't think we've met before?"

"What's with all the formality?" the boy replied, raising an eyebrow. "Relax a bit. You'll have plenty of time to get stressed during initiation." He took a bite out of his pancake before realizing that he hadn't introduced himself. Swallowing quickly, he added, "Kagura Mutsuki."

Jaune's jaw dropped. The Mutsuki family was known for producing many famed Hunters and Huntresses. If he remembered correctly, their estate was in Atlas, which made Kagura's presence in Vale rather strange.

"W-why?" Jaune stammered.

Kagura laughed at the expression on Jaune's face and gave him a pat on the back. While it was undoubtedly a friendly gesture, the black-haired boy's strength was ridiculous, sending Jaune's face into his half-eaten pile of pancakes.

"Whoops, sorry about that," Kagura apologized as he handed Jaune a napkin. "But I'm assuming you mean 'why am I here rather than somewhere closer to home?'" Jaune nodded as he wiped his face off. "Long story short, the old man got a little sick of me bringing girls back home, so he sent me here where he at least wouldn't have to deal with that for a while. But the official story is that my parents are alumni of Beacon and they feel the facilities here are better."

Working up his courage, Jaune asked, "So this thing about teams—"

Kagura shoveled another forkful of pancake into his mouth before answering. "Oh, I don't know too much about that. The folks refused to 'ruin the surprise' when I asked. Everyone knows there's _something_ about teams, but I don't think anyone has the details besides the professors. Unless you're subtly trying to ask me if I want to team up with you? In that case, sorry buddy, but I'd rather team up with a chick. No offense."

Jaune laughed nervously. For someone who dressed like a delinquent, Kagura was surprisingly sharp. "None taken," he replied. "If it was me, I'd probably say the same."

"Oh?" Kagura grinned, "I see…a fellow admirer of the female form, huh?" He put an arm over Jaune's shoulder. "Then, why don't I show you how it's done? If I'm not mistaken, everyone's getting their stuff ready for the initiation in the locker room, follow my lead."

* * *

Noel Vermillion sighed as she opened her locker. There was a lot of activity going on in the locker room right now. An extremely energetic girl with orange hair was bouncing around a lethargic looking boy who was inspecting his weapons, talking about how it would be great if they were together, but "not together, together." Another girl nearby, wearing a black dress with a red hood, was angrily chastising her sister, accusing her of not wanting to be on the same team. A third group of students, consisting of a red-haired girl in armor carrying what looked like a spear, a silver-haired young lady with a rapier, a blond boy with a sword at his waist, and a boy with black hair who Noel recognized as the one who had almost gotten into a fight last night were deep in conversation. The blond one was either trying to flirt or convince the two girls to join his team, but from the sighs and head shakes coming from his companion, it seemed like things weren't going too well for him.

In short, the topic on everyone's minds was who they wanted to team up with.

Noel sighed again. She had wanted to make a good impression on her first day and maybe make a friend, or even two. Instead, she had gotten lost, ended up late for the headmaster's announcement, and then had somehow offended some scary looking boy. She had applied to Beacon to get away from home and start anew. It was supposed to be her debut as a whole new Noel. Instead, here she was, friendless and alone.

"I wonder how Tsubaki and Makoto are doing. Are they angry with me for coming here instead of staying with them?" she mused as she took her weapons out of her locker.

"Oh wow! Those are cool!"

Noel jumped. Because she had been lost in thought, she hadn't noticed someone coming up from behind her. It was the girl in the black dress.

"Can I take a look at them?" she asked excitedly, pointing at the pair of guns in Noel's hand.

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself _before_ asking that question?" the girl's sister remarked, bringing her hand down in a light karate chop. "I swear, Ruby, you can be such a dork sometimes."

"Ooowwww…Yang…" the girl, Ruby, protested. "You didn't need to do _that_—" Then, turning to Noel, she smiled nervously. "I'm Ruby. And you are?"

"Noel," she answered, "I remember seeing you yesterday night. You were the one talking with Blake…"

"Yep, that's me. Being all socially awkward and…well," Ruby replied. Then, her face brightening up again, she asked again, "So—can I take a look?"

Noel hesitated for a second. Her weapons were one of the few things she had brought with her from home. If they got damaged…

(_Come on Noel. Pull yourself together! If you want friends, you need to take the first step!_)

"Oh, alright," Noel answered reluctantly, causing the other girl to jump with joy. "Just promise me you'll be careful with them."

Noel handed her twin guns over to Ruby who snatched them out of Noel's hands so quickly that, for a brief moment, she thought the girl would run off with them. Ruby's sister caught Noel's eyes and gave an apologetic shrug.

"Sorry about her," Yang apologized. "She tends to get excited when she sees a weapon she likes."

"It's not a problem," Noel answered. Her gaze drifted downwards, towards Yang's bosom. (_Huge!_) Looking down at her own chest, Noel suddenly felt very inadequate. "I'm jealous," she muttered.

"What was that?" Yang asked, apparently thinking that Noel was saying something to her.

"Huh? Oh! Um…nothing," Noel answered, realizing she had been overheard. Thinking fast, she added, "I was just thinking about how nice it must be to have family with you at school…I'm a little jealous. About that and…some other things."

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "I was sooo happy when my little sister was allowed to come here two years early. She's really talented, you know. Even if she's a little crazy in some ways…"

Yang nodded towards Ruby who, apparently, had started rubbing her cheeks against Noel's weapons with an immensely satisfied expression on her face.

"Waaah! Don't do that to Bolverk!" Noel cried out, taking her guns back from Ruby. Her line of sight drifted downwards. Even if her bust was emphasized by the corset she wore, there was no doubt that Ruby was better endowed than Noel. And this girl was supposed to be two years younger than her? She felt her legs collapse under her. "Ahahaha," she muttered weakly, "kids these days sure grow up fast…"

Ruby looked down at her with a worried expression. "Are you alright?" she asked.

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch stood next to Ozpin as he inspected the line of students prior to initiation. Each was standing atop a stone platform which would be used to launch them into the forest. The initiation was similar each year, but without fail, there would always be at least one student who would be caught completely off-guard. As the headmaster put it, seeing the expression on that student's face made initiation "the most wonderful time of the year."

(_Sometimes I wonder why parents trust their kids' future to a man like him._)

Glynda explained to the students that they would be forming teams today, confirming the rumors that they, no doubt, had been spreading all morning long. The headmaster then elaborated on the team selection process, stating that the first person a student made eye-contact with after landing in the forest would be their partner for the next four years. Reactions to the announcement ranged from dull acceptance to complete shock. Miss Rose in particular took the news poorly and seemed to need a few long moments to accept the implications of what Headmaster Ozpin had said.

As Ozpin continued the obligatory introduction, Glynda took the opportunity to evaluate some of the students' preparations.

Noel Vermillion was standing on the leftmost platform. She was fidgeting nervously and kept staring at twin guns in her hands as if to reassure herself that they were still there. Glynda thought that the girl was a bit too meek to be a good Huntress, but her overall grades were passable and her marks in Aura control in particular were extremely high. It would be interesting to see how well she did in the forest.

Weiss Schnee stood next in line after Noel. She had a rapier at her waist and, rather naively in Glynda's opinion, opted to wear a frilly white dress. According to the information she had on the girl, Weiss was particularly apt in using Dust-empowered attacks. Like Noel, it seemed like every combat situation the girl had been in so far was in a controlled setting, meaning that the two of them would be facing live combat for the first time today.

Pyrrha Nikos was the next student who caught her attention. The girl had a shield and short sword combination, although the data suggested that her weapon also had a javelin and rifle form. Glynda personally felt that Pyrrha was the most well-rounded student this year and was looking forward to seeing the girl's growth.

In stark contrast to Pyrrha, Ragna was next in line. He had no visible weapon on him and kept looking at Noel before shaking his head and scowling. Glynda's opinion of him had not changed much; she still felt that it was foolish of the headmaster to let an unknown into the school. The boy's poor attitude was also a matter of concern.

The next set of students were just as mismatched as the last two. Nora Valkyrie kept trying to make small talk with Lie Ren, who was standing on the platform to her right. It didn't seem like the girl was taking the initiation seriously at all. Still, she had scored highly on physical aptitude and had passable grades elsewhere despite her erratic behavior.

Lie Ren was the opposite of Nora. His academic grades were impeccable and he gave off a scholarly and cultured vibe. Whether it was because he was too focused or because he found Nora's chattering to be annoying, he wasn't responding to her.

To his right stood a girl with silver hair. Glynda brought up the file on Bullet. Apparently, the girl had been raised by a group of Hunters since she was a child and had been brought on sojourns into the wilderness as soon as she had been capable of walking. (_Really, what were those men thinking?_) Well, there was no doubt that the girl was qualified to attend Beacon on those merits alone.

While Glynda thought that Bullet's attire was wholly inappropriate, it seemed as if the boy next to her thought the opposite. Kagura Mutsuki was alternating between eyeing Bullet and Yang and he was stroking his chin as if whatever he was thinking about was of great importance. His weapon of choice was a large sword-like object; it had a handle and a rectangular blade, but from the look of the dull edge on the weapon, it was meant for crushing rather than cutting. Even if he was from a well-known family, his flirtatious behavior was rude and offensive to Glynda, who adjusted the hydraulic force under his platform upwards through her Scroll. If Ozpin questioned her on it, she had a reasonable explanation ready; his weapon certainly looked heavy enough that more propulsion was required. Still, she doubted it would come to that. After all, the one who had proposed the insane method Beacon used to start initiation was none other than Ozpin himself.

Yang Xiao Long stood next in line. From her transcript, it was apparent that the girl was more than ready for Beacon, but there were a few worrying matters about her as well. A note accompanying her school record mentioned that she often cut classes (but not enough to fail) and was occasionally seen hanging around nightclubs and other places of ill-repute. While Yang had helped take down a few gangs while she was still a student at Signal Academy, it seemed like the girl did so as a means of thrill-seeking rather than out of any desire to do good.

Glynda found Yang's sister to be the more interesting of the two. While Ruby Rose was certainly skilled for her age, Glynda still thought that it wasn't prudent of Ozpin to let her in a full two years early. Skipping ahead even one year was already rare enough. There was a reason for that too; the extra years helped greatly in that students were more mature and better able to cope with the stresses a lifestyle as a Huntress or Hunter entailed.

Last in line was Jaune Arc. Glynda wasn't sure what to make of the boy. On the one hand, the grades on his transcript were all slightly above average for applicants. On the other, he seemed to be, putting it lightly, a bumbling fool. While everyone else was preparing for the launch into the forest, Jaune asked a series of questions which made it clear that he had no idea what was going on. Her perception of this was reinforced when his platform launched him into the air mid-sentence; if only he had been paying attention to his surroundings, he would have known exactly what was going on.

As Ozpin sipped from his mug with a look of satisfaction on his face, Glynda couldn't help but remark, "You're enjoying this a little _too_ much."

* * *

"Damn it! Why does it seem like I got launched so much harder than anyone else?"

Kagura complained as the wind whipped by his face, knowing that no one would be able to hear him. He just wanted to vent a little. Several of the students had already reached the ground by now, but Kagura had gotten more airtime than anyone, courtesy of being launched almost twice as high.

"Well, no use dwelling on the past," he murmured. "Gotta focus on not ending up as a smear on the ground."

Twirling his sword around in one hand, Kagura hurled it to the ground as hard as he could just as he fell past the canopy of the forest. Unlike most of the students he had seen so far at Beacon, his weapon wasn't capable of any fancy tricks and had no transformations. He couldn't slow his descent with recoil or grapple to a safe location with it. It was simply a slab of metal with a handle. Throwing the blade slowed him down a little, but Kagura still had to fall through and break a half-dozen thick branches before his momentum bled out entirely and he rolled to a stop near the base of a tree.

He ran to where his sword had landed. Although it had sunk into the ground for half of its length, Kagura pulled it out with ease. One good thing about having a simple weapon was that maintenance was easy. He didn't have to worry about oiling the parts or sharpening the blade or keeping track of ammo. Just hit things with it and give it the occasional washing to get rid of the dried blood.

The noise he had made upon entry had attracted some attention. Glowing red eyes appeared from the bushes around him. A quick glance told him there were four enemies in all. Kagura closed his eyes for a second; the number of creatures breathing in the area confirmed his initial count.

(_They'll attack immediately if you show any sign of weakness. Of course, they'll attack eventually anyway, but you can use this to your advantage, Kagura.)_

The advice his father had given him as a child just learning the basics of combat floated to the top of his mind. Flipping his sword around, Kagura turned around to face the enemy that had been behind him. As he did so, Kagura swung his sword over his shoulder and felt it connect with the enemy he had turned his back to. He felt something crack under the blow and heard a howl of pain. Judging from the mass of what he had hit, he was fighting a small pack of Beowolves.

Seeing its pack-mate get sent flying into the air, the Beowolf which Kagura was now facing charged. Kagura eyeballed the distance between them and planted his sword into the ground. Shouting a battle-cry, he punched the back of the blade, sending the weapon careening forwards into his foe. Without pausing, he leapt up, grabbed the handle of his sword, and delivered a spinning kick to the jaw of the enemy coming in from his left.

He landed on the ground in a low stance, facing the last Beowolf that he had yet to engage. He gripped the ground with his feet and leapt upwards as it jumped at him, claws extended. Powering a downwards one-handed swing by somersaulting, Kagura slammed his foe into the ground, instantly killing it. Wisps of black smoke rose from its corpse.

The monster he had punched his sword into had recovered and was now warily pacing about. The one he had kicked picked itself up off the ground, shaking its head to clear out the grogginess. The other two were down; Kagura had hit the first one harder than he had initially thought. Their numbers halved, the Beowolves decided to continue the attack, flanking Kagura.

"Oh? Still want to fight?" Kagura asked admiringly. He had to give these Grimm credit for not turning tail. Of course, his way of showing this was to go all out.

The two Grimm charged at the same time, no doubt intending to force Kagura into a position where he would only be able to defend against one of the attacks. However, he had no intention of letting them do as they pleased. Picking the one he had kicked earlier because it still looked a little disoriented, he stepped towards it as if intending to fight it head-on. Once it was close enough, Kagura side-stepped, ducking under the wide swing of the beast's right arm and turning around so that he was facing its back. He swung his sword with both hands, sending the Beowolf flying into its companion.

He dashed forwards while the two were still entangled on the ground and brought his sword over his head with both hands. Channeling his Aura into the massive weapon, he slammed it forwards into the ground on top of the two Grimm, sending a pillar of purple and black energy spiraling into the air.

"Ryuuou Zangaoushou!"

The impact left a small crater in the ground. After confirming that the two creatures in the middle of it were truly dead, Kagura kicked his sword, causing it to spin rapidly in the air before he caught it in one hand and set it atop his shoulders.

"Now then," he mused, staring into the forest, "my 'hot chick' detector is telling me to go this way…"

* * *

-A few minutes earlier-

"That old bastard," Ragna groaned, plucking twigs out of his hair. "He's almost as bad as Master."

The launch had surprised him, but landing hadn't been too bad, initially. He had smashed through a few trees to slow his falling speed and managed to catch onto a branch at the end. Luck wasn't with him though, and the branch had snapped just as he thought it was safe, dropping him into a dense shrub which took a lot of effort to disentangle from.

"No point in sticking around here…now which direction was the temple ruins in?"

Ragna vaguely remembered seeing his destination while he was airborne. No doubt the rest of the initiates were making their way there as well. As for finding a partner…well, he didn't really give a damn about that, as long as they were somewhat competent. In other words, anyone except for that blond kid who got pinned to a wall by his hood after he annoyed a group of girls in the locker room would be fine.

Not willing to take any chances, Ragna climbed the tallest tree he could find and looked around. He had plenty of experience getting lost before, mostly thanks to a girl he knew from his childhood who could lose her way on a straight path while following a map. The memory elicited a rare chuckle from him. After spotting a clearing in the forest some distance away which looked promising, Ragna dropped down from the treetop, caught a branch on the way down, and let himself fall the rest of the distance to the ground.

As he ran, he heard the sound of gunfire coming from two directions and saw smoke rising into the sky from a third. Some of the other initiates must have run into enemies already. He grinned and clenched his right hand as he ran towards to combat site closest to him. It would be good to vent all the frustration that had built up since yesterday on a Grimm.

The source of the noise turned out to be a boy engaged in combat with a King Taijitu, a snakelike Grimm roughly the same size as a train. The monster had two heads, one predominantly black, the other mostly white. While they looked like separate creatures from afar, the two were actually connected at the midpoint of the creature, making Ragna wonder how they coordinated their movements so well. While the Grimm was attacking fiercely, the boy was doing well on his own, dodging with dance-like movements while returning fire with two bladed pistols; he probably would be able to beat the thing on his own even if Ragna didn't join in. Still, helping out now would lower the risk considerably and the boy, who if memory served correctly, was named Lie Ren, wouldn't be as objectionable a partner as some of the other students.

Just as Ragna was about to charge in, a hand clapped down on his shoulder and pulled him back. Turning to face the girl who he had sensed hiding nearby earlier, Ragna found himself with his eyes covered by her other hand.

"We can't make eye-contact! You can't be my partner and you can't be Ren's partner either," she exclaimed. Ragna recognized the voice; it was that girl who had been annoyingly cheerful all morning long. "Ren and I are going to be together. Well…not _together_ together, but together, you know?"

Ragna groaned and pushed her hand away from his face. Closing his eyes, he retorted, "Alright, we won't make eye-contact, ok? So, tell me. How the hell am I supposed to help if I can't see where I'm supposed to attack?"

"Oh don't worry about that," she stated, the bubbliness in her voice causing Ragna to envision rainbows and flowers popping into existence around him despite his eyes being tightly shut. "Ren's got it all handled. He's the perfect student, you know? He'll take that thing down easily."

A gory sounding explosion filled the air. From the pained hissing noise, Ragna guessed that the King Taijitu had been badly wounded.

"See?" the girl exclaimed. "Oh, I guess you can't, with your eyes being shut and all, but it was _soooo awesome_. Ren just blew its head off by snapping off its fangs and impaling it in the eye. That looked like it hurt. Do you think it would hurt?"

(_This girl has a few screws loose…I'm outta here. Don't want to catch whatever insanity she's infected with._)

As Ragna ran off into the forest towards the second source of gunfire he had heard earlier, shaking his head to stave off the impending headache from his brief interaction with "cheery girl," he could hear the girl calling out behind him, "Wait, where're you going? Even if you can't see what's going on, you going to miss my commentary!"

* * *

Noel Vermillion spun Bolverk around in her right hand, aiming it upwards towards the Beowolf leaping at her from the side. A quick pull of the trigger sent it flying backwards into a tree. She immediately jumped, catching another member of the pack by the head with her knees before vaulting off of it and knocking it to the ground by shooting downwards. Multiple howls from the surrounding forest caused Noel to pause momentarily to consider her options.

(_Visual confirmation of three Beowolves. Two permanently incapacitated. At least six outside of visual range. Recommended course of action: disengage and seek a chokepoint or reinforcements._)

Tsubaki had once described Noel's fighting style as "mechanical," but Noel didn't really know if that was true. All she did in combat was calculate out possibilities. Expose the fewest possible openings while maximizing return fire. It was a tactic that worked well in the 1-on-1 mock battles at school prior to coming to Beacon. There were a few glaring weaknesses to it though. If something managed to overwhelm her or go beyond her calculations, she had trouble adapting and would often start to panic. Also, she had never had to fight more than two enemies at once. Having a full pack of Beowolves on her trail was straining her concentration.

Noel ducked and rolled as one of the Grimm leapt at her from the side, sliding under its claws. She brought Bolverk up to bear, but the monster disappeared into the foliage before she could fire. A second Beowolf followed the first, again from her right. Noel swung Bolverk upwards, catching it under the jaw with the gun's muzzle. She pulled the trigger, sending a spray of black mist outwards as the round penetrated the beast's skull.

Glowing eyes suddenly appeared all around her. She had been forced to slow down in response to the attacks just now, giving the Grimm enough time to encircle her. Noel took a deep breath and tapped the back of her guns together before swinging her arms out to the side, pointing them at the two Beowolves which flanked her.

"Let's begin…"

She pulled the triggers, preempting the inevitable attack. The target to her left took a hit between the eyes and went down, but the one to her right managed to avoid the shot.

"Feo…"

Noel took a step back and shot at the ground, channeling her aura through Bolverk at the same time, causing a small explosion which disoriented the Beowolf charging from the front.

"Uru…"

She flipped backwards over the monster coming from behind, rapidly shooting with one of her guns in an arc as she held her arm out. It looked like she hit a few vital spots on it. However, she lost track of her surroundings briefly due to her firing angle and one of the pack managed to slip in close from her blind spot.

Noel brought Bolverk in close, managing to block a swipe just in time. The impact sent her staggering back a step. Using this break in her defenses, two more Beowolves closed in, again from opposite sides. She kicked out towards one of them and, lining Bolverk up with her leg, fired a shot directly into the open maw of the one approaching from the left. She tried to recover in time to deflect the second attack but was sent reeling from a partially blocked attack. The impact caused to her drop one of her guns.

(_Reassessing combat situation…_)

Panic began to spring up in her chest, causing Noel to freeze up. There were simply too many enemies for her to handle right now. The hit she had taken had knocked the breath out of her lungs, slowing her movements some more. She realized with a sense of growing dread that she wouldn't be able to lift the Bolverk up fast enough to counter the next attacker. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable pain.

There was a thud and a yelp. Noel opened her eyes and met the gaze of the boy who had approached her last night with an air of hostility. He had a scowl on his face, though whether he was directing it towards her or the enemy underneath his boot was unclear.

"Ugh, it _was_ you after all," he groaned. He reached out with his left hand and roughly pulled Noel to her feet. Kicking the Beowolf he had been stepping on so hard that Noel heard a crack, he added, "Are you still able to fight or do you want spend some time finishing up your crying session while I handle things?"

"Crying session?!" Noel yelled back indignantly. She hurriedly wiped the tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes. It was a perfectly normal reaction, thank you very much.

(_Really, who was this jerk?_)

"They're coming. I'll clear a path for you to get your weapon since you were too stupid to hold on to it," the boy said with unmistakable arrogance.

"I'm not stupid! Let's see you do better against a full pack!" Noel found herself screaming back. She liked to think of herself as a nice person, if a little shy, but this guy…he ticked her off.

"Watch my back," he commanded, again ignoring her outburst.

The boy charged in the direction he had indicated earlier. He lowered his stance as a Beowolf clawed at him and delivered a punch to its snout. A second Grimm attacked him from the side and for a second, Noel thought he was going to take a claw to his exposed ribs. However, he stepped into the attack and did…something.

Noel had no clue what happened. One second the Grimm was right on top of the boy and the next, it was twenty feet away, sent flying by some great force. For one instant, she thought she saw shadowy fangs sprout from the ground, but whatever it really was, it faded away so quickly that she convinced herself that she had imagined it.

"Oy, are you just going to stand there and stare all day?" he called back.

Snapping to her senses, Noel rushed forward and retrieved Bolverk. It felt good to have both pistols in her hands again.

"I'll take the ones in front of me," the boy declared. "You take the rear. Think you can handle it?"

"What? Are you a moron?" Noel exclaimed. "_You're _the one without a weapon. Let me handle the main body of the pack."

The boy's eyebrows twitched in agitation, causing Noel to feel a burst of satisfaction. Served him right for being such a jerk. But there wasn't any time to bicker more. Two enemies were closing from behind. Noel closed her eyes and cleared her mind.

She dispatched the two of them with machine-like efficiency, taking both down with one shot each by luring them in, creating an opening by using Bolverk's long barrels as melee weapons, and firing at a vital spot. Having a partner made combat much easier as she did not have to worry about her blind-spots as much; it also helped that she had already taken out half the pack before the boy even showed up.

She dispatched her final target by kicking it in the face, shoving Bolverk down its throat, and channeling her Aura through the gun to unleash an explosive round. She then turned around to assist the boy, but it turned out that there was no need.

"What…happened here?"

It looked like a storm had struck the forest immediately behind her. The ground had been churned up as if someone had haphazardly plowed it, leaving deep furrows scattered in random directions. The white-haired boy stood at the center of it, surrounded by the corpses of four Beowolves. There were jagged wounds on the side of the one closest to Noel; it looked like something had taken a large bite out of it. From this angle, she could see only the side of his face, but it looked like he was wearing a fierce grin. A smoky black Aura rose from his body, mostly concentrated by his right arm.

Noel suppressed a shudder. Sure, she was out of immediate danger, but something about her partner seemed…off.

Noel sat with her back to a tree. A short distance away, the boy, who had finally introduced himself as Ragna, sat with his legs crossed.

"Are you done taking your break yet?" he asked irritably. Then, he muttered, "Go figure I get stuck with someone like you…"

"You don't need to be that mean," Noel pouted. "Besides, I'm tired out from that fight. _You're_ the weird one. As far as I can tell, you were throwing your Aura around left and right…and without a weapon too. You should be half-dead from exhaustion by now."

"Ha! As if a couple of weak Grimm like those would tire me out," Ragna scoffed. "Don't lump me in the same group as you, idiot."

"Will you stop calling me 'idiot' already? I have a name, you know?" Noel replied. Having Ragna for a partner wasn't helping her self-esteem at all. Speaking of names, she was suddenly reminded of something. Hesitantly, she asked, "Who's Saya?"

Ragna's expression was one of surprise, but it quickly turned dark. He grumbled something angrily before looking at the ground.

"She's…" he began with a voice that was surprisingly melancholic.

He punched the ground and looked up. Glaring at Noel, he continued, "none of your business. If you're energetic enough to talk about pointless things, you're well enough that we can get moving."

Ragna got up off the ground, brushed his pants off, and then walked off into the forest. Noel got to her feet as well and followed behind, not wanting to be left alone in the forest. But as she watched the boy's back, she had the feeling that Ragna had been about to answer her question honestly before changing his mind.

* * *

**AN**: This chapter is mostly focused on the Blazblue cast. I find that there's really not much point in detailing something from the RWBY casts' perspective unless there are going to be changes from canon or at least elaboration on events that follow canon. As a sidenote, Bolverk doesn't have the same emotional suppression ability it does in Blazblue canon (as Nox Nyctores and Ars don't exist under RWBY rules.) Not much else to say, but if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in a review.


	3. Rebel 3: Destruction's Black

Rebel 3: Destruction's Black

Ragna groaned as he sat up. He had a splitting headache and it felt like his right arm was being constricted. Wincing in pain, he carefully opened his eyes and took a look around. He was in an unfamiliar room, atop a luxurious bed. The chamber looked old, but it was in well-repair. Paintings and tapestries hung on the wall and much of the furniture looked expensive.

"Finally awake, I see," a girl's voice commented from his right. "The hour of twelve has already come and gone. You are, by far, the most slothful lout I have ever met, Ragna."

"What the hell!?"

It was bad enough waking up in an unknown room, but being insulted as soon as he regained consciousness passed his limit of tolerance. He turned violently towards the girl who was seated in an antiquated high-back chair next to him and immediately regretted doing so. Spikes of pain shot through his abdomen and the back of his head, causing him to double over.

"Ugh, why do I feel like I got hit by a truck?" he moaned. Looking at the blonde twin-tailed girl through teary eyes, Ragna demanded, "Where the hell am I… Rachel, was it?"

"Is that any way to speak to your savior?"

She leaned over and smacked him in the back of the head, causing another wave of agony to shoot through his skull. However, despite her words, she didn't actually seem to be angry. Rather, the expression on her face was one of amusement. She leaned back in her chair and propped her head up with one arm.

"You are at my manor," Rachel continued. "But I suppose you wouldn't know anything about the Alucard clan, so that would mean little to you. As for the answer to your first question…Valkenhayn."

The name she uttered was not so much an answer as it was an invitation for someone else to answer. The doors to the room swung open noiselessly and a man in elegant butler's attire entered, pushing a tea cart. Ragna recognized him as the gentleman who had been accompanying Rachel when he had been found.

"Your tea, Milady," he said, giving the girl a gracious bow.

"Thank you, Valkenhayn," Rachel answered politely. "Now, if you would, please explain to our guest what transpired while he was…asleep."

"Certainly," Valkenhayn answered. Turning to Ragna, he folded his hands together and began his recount, "Now, I do not know if you still recall Lady Rachel extending you a generous offer to be her manservant…"

Ragna nodded. That sounded familiar to him.

"And do you recall exactly how you answered?"

Ragna searched his memory but failed to remember how he had replied. He shook his head.

A flash of annoyance appeared in Valkenhayn's eyes, but the butler quickly suppressed it.

"Your answer was, and I quote, 'Screw you, I'd rather be buried alive.' Unquote. I was about to oblige when Milady made it abundantly clear that she preferred to take you back with us in one piece. I then proceeded to knock you unconscious with a few well-aimed blows to make transport less of a hassle."

Ragna rubbed the back of his skull. It was still throbbing relentlessly. "Damn it, old man. You could have just asked politely."

"I believe Milady already had. You did not seem particularly accommodating," Valkenhayn replied.

(_I guess he has a point._)

Turning to Rachel, Ragna asked, "Alright, so would you tell me what's going on? And what's the hell is up with my arm?"

"If you are going to ask for answers, I would require that you ask with some politeness. Really, you _are_ such a hopeless child," Rachel sighed dramatically. After a brief moment to enjoy the effects of her taunt, she relented, "Very well, I suppose I can indulge you for a while. I brought you here because you are the only one who can tell us what transpired at the facility we found you in. We had hoped to catch them red-handed, but alas, they caught wind of us. As for your arm, I can only offer you theories. What we do know is that it is very similar, biologically speaking, to the Grimm." Noticing Ragna's shocked reaction, she added, "I presume from your reaction that it wasn't always like that?"

"No, I was born with a freakish monstrosity for a right arm, does that answer your question?" Ragna replied sarcastically.

"I see," Rachel countered dryly. "You poor thing. Not only were you born with a dearth of intellect and social graces, but disfigured as well."

Ragna could come up with no adequate response. He worked his mouth furiously for a moment before closing it, deciding to just glare at the girl until she went away.

Unfazed, the girl continued, "But to answer your question, that arm was rapidly draining not only your own Aura, but was affecting everything around you. In order to keep you alive, I had to place a seal on it."

"A seal?"

Ragna flexed the fingers on his right hand. Then, he used the same hand to pull the covers off of himself. Sealed or not, it seemed to be working perfectly fine. He gave Rachel a questioning look.

The girl nodded. "My Semblance is 'Barriers.' The one I placed on you in particular will keep the arm's draining effect to a minimum while it is active. I can teach you how to remove it later, but you will have to become stronger before you are ready to handle that burden."

Ragna scratched his head and replied, "Alright, but you still haven't explained why you're doing all this for me."

"You _are_ a slow one, aren't you?" Rachel sighed, causing Ragna to grunt angrily. "There is only so much that I can do alone, so I will need allies when the time comes. Especially if *that* man is involved. Things may be already moving ahead quicker than I can handle unaided."

She looked so melancholic that Ragna was starting to feel a little worried for her. He shook his head forcefully.

(_Dammit! I can't figure out this girl at all! I'm not even sure if I should be annoyed and angry at her or grateful or concerned. This…just sucks! And I still need to go and find Saya._)

Ragna pushed himself up but was immediately forced down by Valkenhayn. Rachel shook her head sadly.

"Not yet," the girl said quietly as she placed a hand delicately on top of Ragna's brow. "You won't be able to do anything at all if you run after them now. Sleep soundly," she whispered. "Your training will begin when you awaken."

* * *

"Ha! You're too slow!"

Bullet laughed as she taunted the bear-like creature. Enraged, the Ursa swatted at her, but she leaped backwards out of range. While her foe was off-balance, she charged forwards and slammed her fists down on top of its head, sending it to the ground. While the monster was on the ground, she fired a shot, using her gauntlet, at its back.

"And that's one," Bullet noted calmly as she checked the smoking wound she had inflicted to make sure it was a fatal one.

There was a roar from her left. The rest of the group of Grimm she had run into had finally caught up. Bullet reached inside her gauntlet's compartment and took out a small remote. Counting to three, she pushed a button on the device just as another Ursa appeared.

Two explosions from either side sent it sprawling to the ground. As it groaned weakly, the splintered trunks of the trees Bullet had set explosive charges on broke apart and fell down on top of the beast.

"And that's two."

Turning towards the top of a small cliff that overlooked where she was fighting, she called out, "Are you just going to stand there all day or do you plan on making yourself useful?"

"Don't mind me, just enjoying the view. And I must say, it's a _very_ nice one," a young man's voice called back. "Besides, it doesn't look to me like you need much help anyway."

"A good Hunter knows that teamwork cuts down the burden on the whole group," Bullet replied. "And there's at least one more of them out there."

"Thanks for the advice and the warning, but it's not needed."

A black shadow descended from the sky and landed a few feet away from Bullet. It was the last of the Ursas which Bullet had encountered earlier. While Grimm of the same species looked the same to most people, there were subtle cues that Bullet had learned to pick up early on to identify them on an individual basis. The placement of spikes on its back as well as the patterns of wear and tear on the white mask-like armor on its head was a perfect match.

The young man who had been speaking from the top of the cliff jumped down a moment later, landing with a soft thump that belied the weight of the weapon he carried. He shot Bullet a grin.

"I guess we're partners then," he stated. "I don't think we've been introduced. Kagura Mutsuki."

"Bullet."

"Got a last name there?" Kagura asked in a friendly manner.

Bullet shook her name. "That's my call name from the troop I was in and the only one I need."

"Well," the young man remarked. "That's kind of a downer. Though I guess I should just be thanking the powers that be that my partner is smoking hot."

Bullet wasn't quite sure what he meant. It sounded like slang, but she was unfamiliar with it. If she had to guess, he was talking about her combat skills. She hefted her gauntlet up and patted it affectionately.

"If you're referring to this," she ventured a guess, "it's served me well over the years. I forged them a long time ago with the help of…well, I guess you could call him something like an older brother to me. Had to customize the fit a few times but they're durable, completely thermally insulated, and pack quite a punch even if the range is a little limited."

Kagura gave her a flabbergasted look. Probably because he was completely taken aback by the how complex her weapon-system looked. Judging from the simple slab of metal the young man carried around, he didn't know much about technology and how it revolutionized combat. (_Poor fellow_.) Pitiable though he might be, she didn't have the time to explain it to him right now. They had a job to do.

Turning around, she stated, "We've wasted enough time here, our objective is to reach the ruins. We should focus on the task at hand."

"There's no harm in getting to know each other more…intimately," Kagura suggested. "Why don't we put off heading there for a little while?"

Bullet placed her hands on her hips and faced Kagura.

"Knowing more about your teammate does increase effectiveness by no less than 25%," she admitted.

"Right?" Kagura asked, giving her a wink.

"And I do wonder if there's more to you than first meets the eye," Bullet added. He had a fairly slender build, but he must be fairly strong if he was holding onto the weapon he had that casually and with just one hand. Bullet decided that his true potential was higher than he let on.

"Ohoh?" Kagura inquired. "You move fast, don't you?"

"I wouldn't say that," she replied, again feeling puzzled. (_Why was he inquiring about her running speed?_) "Probably about average."

Kagura gave a low whistle. Bullet peered around, scanning the tree-line. That was the signal her squad had used to indicate there was an enemy prowling. Then, she remembered that there would be no possible way Kagura could have known that.

"Regardless, we should keep moving," Bullet finished, looking back to Kagura. "Your offer is appreciated, but we can learn about each other's preferences and work on our teamwork through actual combat."

Kagura gave her another look of disbelief. It seemed as if the idea hadn't occurred to him that live combat was the best method of developing teamwork. He _did_ take down an Ursa alone, so he couldn't be a complete novice, but in some ways it seemed like her partner was new to being a Hunter. Well, they could work on his lack of common sense over time…

Bullet shrugged and walked off into the forest.

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos was currently running as fast as she could. The sound of trees splintering behind her informed her that the beast which was pursuing her was drawing closer. She jumped, stretching out her body in the air in order to pass through the space between the Grimm's pincers. Rolling to her feet, she brought Miló up to her shoulder in rifle-form and fired three quick shots at the monster's face.

It chittered angrily and staggered back a step before clacking its pincers together and charging forwards again. Resembling a scorpion the size of an average house, the Death Stalker was fairly high up on Pyrrha's list of "Grimm I don't ever want to encounter in a dark alley." Its heavily armored body made it difficult to deal any damage to the creature. Even hitting it in an eye with a round seemed to do little more than inconvenience it, similar to getting an eyelash stuck in one's own eye. It was an enemy that would require a team of Huntresses and Hunters to take down. Running was the smart option if she didn't have backup.

Well, technically she did have backup…

"Waaah! It wasn't a relic!"

…except he was currently hanging on for dear life to the Death Stalker's stinger.

Jaune Arc was an interesting young man. Pyrrha could sense a huge amount of potential in him. And he had a pretty amusing personality as well. Clumsy in an endearing sort of way. Even if he didn't seem very dependable yet, there were definitely worse partners that one could have. However, he wouldn't be of any help right now.

"Come over this way, I'll provide covering fire!"

A young girl's voice called out from a nearby outcropping of rocks. As it did, a barrage of bullets streaked through the air past Pyrrha. For a moment, she was worried that Jaune would be hit, but the shooter was accurate. The Death Stalker gave an indignant hiss and flailed about, swinging its tail about violently. Taken by surprise, Jaune was hurled into the air. Pyrrha quickly lost sight of him through the foliage.

"Jaune!"

Despite knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to hear her, Pyrrha called out instinctively.

"Please hurry this way," the girl called out again. "I need to reload soon."

Pyrrha gave the direction Jaune had been hurled in one more glance before breaking into a sprint. The shooter fired a few more shots before stopping her barrage. Free from the distraction, the Death Stalker gave another angry chitter and stampeded forwards…

"Nemesis Stabilizer!"

…straight into an extremely powerful final shot from Pyrrha's backup. The air tingled with an electrified sensation and she could sense through her Semblance that whatever had happened had involved some form of magnetism. For the first time since Pyrrha had encountered the Death Stalker, it actually took some damage. A coin-sized fragment of the armored carapace covering its head chipped off. However, the attack seemed to have glanced off the sloping incline of the Grimm's head. That was a pity, if it had been a head-on shot, they might have been able to at least temporarily incapacitate the beast.

Pyrrha rendezvoused with the student who had helped her. To her surprise, it was the same girl who had been late to the headmaster's speech the previous day. A surly-looking young man with spiky white hair accompanied her. Noel and Ragna, as she recalled from the student registry. The three of them sprinted deeper into the forest together.

"We should head for the temple ruins and try to lose our pursuer," Pyrrha stated. "But I need to find Jaune first."

"Jaune?" Ragna asked, sounding like he could hardly care less. "Oh, that useless looking kid who threw up on the airship and was asking all those dumb questions at the start of initiation?"

"He's not useless," Pyrrha replied firmly. Hearing the boy badmouth her partner irritated her. "And he's my partner."

Behind them, the Death Stalker was catching up to them at a frightening pace. Pyrrha turned towards Noel, "Can you do that attack you used earlier again to slow it down?"

Noel shook her head and answered, "I can't use it more than once every few minutes. It heats up Bolverk's barrels too much. In fact, it's probably better to not even use Bolverk in its normal state for a while afterwards."

"Heh, what kind of idiot carries a weapon that isn't reliable?" Ragna laughed.

Noel screamed back indignantly, "Stop calling me an idiot! Coming from a moron like you who doesn't even _have_ a weapon, it makes me feel even worse!"

The two of them seemed ill-suited to be partners, but Pyrrha had other things on her mind. Namely the young man who was stuck in a tree across from the clearing they had just run out into.

"Jaune!"

She felt a burst of relief, it looked like he was fine. Her distraction almost cost her, as the Death Stalker finally caught up with them.

"Idiot! Don't space out!"

Ragna's warning, ill-phrased though it was, enabled Pyrrha to avoid a swipe from the Death Stalker's pincers. Noel, jumping to the side to avoid the same attack, rolled out of the path of the monster. Ragna, however, seemed to have decided that the best defense was to go on the offense and jumped, not out of the way, but into the path of the Grimm's pincer, kicking off the claw towards the monster's head.

"Take this, you damn overgrown insect!"

Pyrrha wholly expected his attack to be completely pointless, more of an exercise in bravery or recklessness than something which would actually achieve anything. She was partially correct, but the boy hit harder than she had predicted, pitching the body of the Death Stalker forwards so that its fangs plowed into the ground, slowing it down momentarily.

Taking advantage of this breathing room, Pyrrha spun around and fired a salvo into her enemy's face. The distraction gave Ragna enough time to avoid the Death Stalker's counterattack. He jumped aside to dodge the monster's stinger and landed to its side. From his posture, it was clear that he was about to charge in for another round.

"Just head to the ruins," Pyrrha shouted at him, nodding to the circular temple in the center of the clearing. Several other students were already there. She couldn't tell what was going on there, but more likely than not, they were trying to make sense of the situation. "Grab the relic for your team first and if you could please get Jaune out of that tree, tell him to pick one up for my group as well. I'll hold this one off."

As Pyrrha deflected another swipe from the Death Stalker's claw, Ragna hesitatingly asked, "You sure? That thing looks pretty tough."

"I'm sure! The longer you take, the longer I need to distract this thing," she answered, changing Miló to its sword form and taking a swing at the monster.

The impact numbed her hands a bit and she didn't seem to have done much damage. When her instructors back in Mistral classified Death Stalkers as a team-tier threat, Pyrrha had thought she had a good gauge of how dangerous they were. She mentally revised her assessment upwards. _Far_ upwards.

"Alright," Ragna replied as he ran off towards the ruined temple. "Just don't get yourself killed. I'll be back with help as soon as I can."

(_Huh, maybe he isn't that bad of a guy after all…Though he could use some manners._)

She quickly switched her weapon back to rifle form. While it was just about as effective as the sword was (_in other words, not very_), at least she could build some distance between the Death Stalker and herself while using it. That, and rapidly shooting at it held the monster's attention just as well, if not a little better than getting right in its face.

Pyrrha chanced a peek at Jaune's position before returning to a combat-ready stance. She hoped that it wouldn't take long for reinforcements to arrive. She had tried to sound confident, but in reality, she wasn't sure how long she could hold out.

* * *

Ruby Rose was currently running on an adrenaline high. Jumping down from 100 feet in the air only to collide with another airborne student tended to do that to you. If she had to put a gauge on the actual amount of energy coursing through her veins right now…she would rate it as three platters of cookies, soft-baked chocolate chunk. The good kind. In other words, she felt unstoppable.

"Hey Ruby, didn't you find a partner yet?"

Of course, her sister just _had_ to ask her a simple question which temporarily brought her back down to earth.

"Um, Weiss is…" Ruby began, scanning the skies for signs of the white-haired girl. She spotted a large crow-like Grimm in circling the clearing above them. "Ah! There she is!"

Ruby pointed at the Nevermore's feet. Weiss was hanging on to a talon, but it didn't look like she was going to let go on her own volition anytime soon. However, that didn't mean that she was going to remain in the air indefinitely either. As the Nevermore banked sharply in the air, Weiss apparently lost her grip and plummeted downwards.

"Hang on, Weiss! I'm coming!" Ruby shouted. But as she did, she realized that her partner was too far away for her to reach even if she used her Semblance.

Thankfully, someone jumped out of the forest in time to catch Weiss as she fell. However, Jaune had apparently forgotten that he himself was a good thirty feet in the air when he leaped out. He struck the ground stomach-first and, even from this distance, Ruby could hear the impact. (_That's one heck of a belly-flop._) Weiss managed to break her own fall, somehow maneuvering herself mid-air so that she fell gracefully on top of Jaune, almost as if she had planned it.

There was a thud and a scream from the other direction, followed shortly by the sound of something striking the ground nearby. Surprisingly, Ragna was the first to reach where Pyrrha had landed. Ruby had gotten the impression last night that he was one of those thug-types who liked to act tough and scare civilians. The kind of person Yang warned her against associating with.

"You still alive there?"

Ragna shook the prone girl's shoulder as he asked her a question. Nora popped in a second later, bending over at the waist to get a closer look.

"No response. It's just a corpse," she said cheerfully.

Pyrrha sat up with a coughing fit. "Urgh…Don't write me off so easily," she declared crossly between gasps for air.

"Great! The gang's all here," Yang remarked sarcastically, "now we can all die together."

"Not if I can help it," Ruby answered smugly as she drew Crescent Rose and shifted it into scythe form.

She just loved the sensation when the mechanical parts clicked fluidly into place. Aiming the shaft behind her, Ruby fired a shot while charging straight at the Death Stalker, feeling a rush of exhilaration as the recoil propelled her through the air. Bringing Crescent Rose overhead, Ruby swung downwards with all her might…

…only to get knocked aside as the Death Stalker swung its pincer around to counter. Crescent Rose had connected with the armor-plated claw, but did about as much damage as if Ruby had picked up a pebble and tossed it at the monster.

Getting back up to her feet, Ruby called back to where the other students were gathered, "Don't worry. I'm totally fine."

She turned around in time to see the menacing bulk of the Death Stalker bearing down on her. It clacked its pincers together angrily. Apparently it did not like being attacked by little girls wearing red capes. The rest of the front of its body was just as well armored as the part Ruby had hit, which meant that she probably wasn't going to be able to hurt the thing at all with Crescent Rose.

(Well…this is probably a good time to run away.)

Ruby nervously swung her weapon around and fired a quick, un-aimed shot at the Grimm's head. The bullet glanced off the sloped incline of the chitin plating; the only visible effect of the attack was that the monster was now even more annoyed with her.

"Time to go," Ruby told herself, turning around and fleeing the way she had come.

She quickly switched Crescent Rose back to its compact form and stowed it away behind her. Over in the distance, she could see her sister running out towards her, calling her name in concern. Ruby glanced over her shoulder. While she had actually built some distance between herself and the Death Stalker, she seemed to have gained another pursuer.

The Nevermore chased after her overhead, screeching loudly as it gained ground on her. Then, with a particularly strong flap of its wings, it sent a shower of feathers raining down in a line stretching from where Ruby was all the way towards Yang. Ordinary feathers would have merely drifted down harmlessly, but these somehow came raining down with the speed of thrown knives, sinking deep into the ground where they struck. One pierced through Ruby's cloak, causing her feet to fly out from underneath her and stopping her movement entirely. Yang slid to a halt right in front of where the attack ended while a boy ran in and batted aside the few feathers which had been close to hitting Ruby's sister, using a large sword.

(When did Kagura get here?)

The two of them shouted something at her, but Ruby couldn't make out the words. From the context, it was clear that they were telling her to get out of there.

"I'm trying…" Ruby shouted back, yanking at her cloak in an effort to free it.

A dark shadow fell over her just as she realized it might have been a better idea to take the cloak off for now and retrieve it later. The Death Stalker had caught up. Time seemed to dilate as it raised its stinger high into the air. Pinned as she was, there was no possible way for Ruby to avoid it. Even if she could draw Crescent Rose in time, it was unlikely that she would be able to parry the attack. So she did the most logical thing and futilely put her arms in front of her head protectively while hunching down slightly in hopes that, despite the monster having about 10 eyes, it had bad aim. She also clenched her eyes shut tightly.

There was a whoosh from her side and a split second later, a loud crackling sound. Tentatively, Ruby opened her eyes. What she saw first was the Death Stalker's stinger a mere hand-span away from her face. The second thing to great her vision was the wall of ice which had engulfed the creature's tail, preventing the stinger from reaching her. The third thing she saw was…

(_Weiss! Oh, am I glad to see you!)_

In fact, Ruby was so happy to see her partner that half of the girl's complaints about Ruby's behavior went in one ear and out the other. She caught the gist of it though and Weiss did make a few concessions about her own haughtiness. Ruby's emotions reached a high point when her partner started talking about working as a team. (_Yay! She considers me a partner!_)

"So, if you'll quit trying to show off," Weiss concluded, "then I'll be…nicer…"

It seemed like she had trouble getting the last word out. It would be more accurate to say that the girl almost choked on that word. For a fleeting moment, Ruby got the feeling that she wasn't the only one having trouble adjusting to meeting new people in an unfamiliar place.

"I'm not trying to show off," Ruby replied, figuring that Weiss would appreciate an answer more than the big hug Ruby wanted to give her right around now. "I just want you to know that I can do this…"

"You're fine," Weiss said sincerely.

Ruby had a hard time holding back her glomping instinct as her partner walked past her. A _very_ hard time. After freeing herself from the feather which had been pinning her cloak to the ground, Ruby took a quick look around the ice wall to see Weiss's handiwork up close.

"Wow…"

The Death Stalker was tied down. Try as it might, it didn't seem to be able to break its stinger out from the icy prison which encased it. There was an appreciative whistle from behind Ruby.

"That ice princess isn't bad at all."

Ruby had to agree with Kagura. But for now, she was more interested in the person who had just enveloped her in a hug.

"Yang!"

"I'm so glad you're ok," her sister fretted, squeezing so hard that Ruby felt the air rushing out of her lungs.

Their happy reunion was immediately interrupted as the Nevermore flew by overhead once again. Although there wasn't much immediate danger from the Death Stalker, the realization that there was a second team-tier threat out there was enough to persuade them that they did not have time to waste.

"Let's go grab our relics first," Yang stated.

"You go on ahead, I'll be right with you once I finish making preparations."

The other girl who had come up with Yang said something puzzling. Ruby recognized her as the one who had tried to bomb open a door at the side entrance of the academy the day before. The girl opened up a compartment in her gauntlet and rummaged around.

"Are you going to be alright?" Ruby asked in concern. "And what preparations?"

"I'll be fine," the girl replied. "It'll only take a second."

As Ruby headed back with her sister, she thought she heard the girl muttering something to herself which sounded a lot like "if explosives aren't solving your problem, you're just not using enough of them."

* * *

"Run away?"

Ragna asked for confirmation about the plan the other students had decided on. It wasn't as if he was raring to take on the Death Stalker or the Nevermore, but running away while they had the advantage seemed to be a little backwards.

"It's a strategic retreat," Ruby clarified. "It's not like we need to kill everything in our path."

"Wasn't that what the old guy said to do at the start?"

"I'm sure skipping one or two Grimm won't matter much," Yang interjected. "We've gotten what we came for, so finishing our task should come first, right?"

A loud cracking sound filled the air. The scorpion-like monstrosity had finally weakened the ice holding it down sufficiently to almost break free.

"Time we left," Lie Ren stated objectively. The other students nodded in agreement.

Ragna left with the others, but still felt like it would have been better to finish off the Death Stalker to cut down on the number of pursuers first. From far behind them, there was a loud crunch, signaling that the barrier Weiss had created had finally given way.

"And that would be my cue," Bullet remarked, fishing out a remote from her pocket.

"Oh? What's that?" Yang asked, looking interested.

"Insurance."

Bullet thumbed one of the buttons and, as she did, the sound of multiple explosions filled the air from the clearing they had just left. There was an angry screech from the same direction. Bullet stowed the remote away with a smug expression on her face.

"I should have brought more charges with me," she remarked. "I doubt the ones I had left were enough to cripple that thing permanently."

"Do you always carry around high-yield explosives on your person?" Ruby questioned, sounding rather uncomfortable.

"Doesn't everyone?" Bullet replied, looking puzzled.

Yang laughed boisterously at the girl's answer, "I like your style. Let's be friends."

"We should all hit the bars in town after initiation," Kagura suggested. "Get to know each other better."

From his tone and the way he was eyeing the girls, Ragna was certain that he was only directing his proposal to whole group because it wasn't polite to leave the boys out. Not that he cared about going at all. He had better things to do. Like training to kick Terumi's ass, finding Saya, training to kick Terumi's ass, tracking down Jin and pummeling him into the ground, and training to kick Terumi's ass.

"My mentor told me about those places a long time ago and said I should stay away from them because they would devour little children there," Bullet said skeptically. "Something about a breeding ground for scum?"

"That sounds about right," Yang answered, her laughter growing louder. "Your mentor sounds like an overprotective older brother. I would love to meet him one day, provided he's cute, of course. But that's the point to going to a bar. It's like a carnival of fun times punching people's faces in while cleaning up the city at the same time!"

"Less chatter, we're almost there," Pyrrha interrupted. Ragna was starting to like that girl a bit. She was very professional and while strong, also knew her limits. It also didn't hurt that she didn't seem to be one to engage in idle chatter.

The forest cleared out to reveal an expansive ruin built over a deep chasm. At the other side of the gap was the cliff wall which led to the place they had begun initiation. A stone long stone bridge stretched across most of the gap and it looked like they could reach close to the top just by scaling the ruins themselves.

Just as Ragna thought they might be home free, a shadow flew by overhead. The Nevermore turned around in mid-air and landed directly on top of the roof of the ruins directly across from the students. The initiates quickly ducked behind several stone pillars to avoid being in the monster's line of sight.

"What now?" Jaune asked nervously. "We're just asking to be pin-cushioned if we try to cross while that thing is there."

The sound of several loud snaps brought their attention away from the Nevermore just as the Death Stalker tore out of the forest, tossing aside trees as if they weighed as much as matchsticks. Its front legs looked badly charred and its movements seemed to be dulled, but that didn't lower the danger everyone was in since the sheer bulk of the monster meant escaping around it and back into the forest was going to be difficult.

"I told you we should have beaten that thing down first," Ragna growled.

"Hindsight is 20-20," Weiss stated. "Besides, fighting that monster out in an open field while the Nevermore was swooping overhead would have been a stupid idea."

Right," Ragna declared sarcastically as he peeked around the pillar at where the Nevermore was perched. "We're in a much better position now. I'm so glad we waited."

"Only incompetents whine about past mistakes instead of taking them to heart and learning from them," Weiss replied, glaring at him. Ragna was forcibly reminded of Rachel. Immediately, he decided that he wanted as little to do with this girl as possible. One haughty princess-type was enough for a lifetime, thank you very much.

"Chat later, run now," Jaune stated, apparently deciding that the Death Stalker barreling down on them represented a bigger threat than the Nevermore at this moment.

Not surprisingly, everyone moved out on the boy's order despite how unsure he sounded, having come to the same conclusion. As they appeared from behind cover, the Nevermore took to the air, flapping its wings furiously.

"Nora, distract it," Lie Ren commanded.

The girl Ragna had encountered in the forest when Ren had been fighting the King Taijitu complied, dodging a barrage of feathers and returning fire with what appeared to be a grenade launcher, although the trajectory of the missiles made it act more like a rocket launcher. The Nevermore took a few hits, one of which sent its head backwards. It flew off to the side to avoid the rest of Nora's onslaught.

As it did, the Death Stalker closed in on Nora but was stopped as Lie Ren and Blake jumped in with a combo attack from the sides. The two quickly leaped out of the way and made their way to the bridge as Weiss grabbed Nora and used a Glyph to launch them out of danger's path.

Ragna stood at the foot of the bridge, deciding that bringing up the rear guard was the best course of action. As the others ran by, he focused his Aura into his right arm and sent a wave of darkness at the Death Stalker. The force of the blow slowed it down for a second, but it didn't look like he would be able to take the beast down without using something more powerful.

"Let's go!" Pyrrha shouted at him, crouching down and providing cover fire for the stragglers. Lie Ren and Noel joined her, opening fire with their dual pistols.

It was unnerving to be charging at three people unleashing a storm of bullets in his direction, but their aim was good enough that nothing came close to hitting him as he ran past. However, the Nevermore seemed to have decided that it would be a good idea to take out the bridge, knocking out the path behind him and leaving Pyrrha, Noel, Lie Ren, and Blake on the other side.

In the brief moment it too the students to reorganize on the far side of the bridge, the team on the other side didn't seem to be doing too well against the Death Stalker. None of their attacks were even denting the creature's armor plating and it was quickly adjusting to their movements, managing to land a glancing blow which sent Blake sprawling to the ground.

"Oh man, we need to get over there and help," Jaune cried out, turning around but stopping where the bridge had been destroyed.

"You two go over as well," Bullet commanded, indicating to Kagura and Ragna that she was talking to them. "From the looks of it, you two are useless against the Nevermore with your lack of ranged weaponry. Speaking of which, get one or two of the gunners on that side over here."

"You…" Ragna growled. True though her statement was, he did not like getting called out on it.

"Fine by me," Kagura replied to his partner's demand. "It's kind of hot on occasion when a girl takes charge."

Kagura spun his weapon around and threw it to the other side of the gap, striking the Death Stalker head-on. He dashed past Jaune and jumped across effortlessly.

"Yeah…I can't make that jump," Jaune declared.

Hearing the boy's statement, Nora took matters into her own hands, pushed the boy back a step, and converted her weapon into a massive war-hammer. She swung down with a tremendous amount of force and, aided by an explosive round which she fired from the head of the weapon, turned the section on the bridge they were on into a giant make-shift catapult.

"Damn it, did you have to time it like that?" Ragna shouted at her as he flew through the air. He had been running in to make his own jump when Nora took out more of the bridge in order to launch Jaune across.

He rolled to his feet on the other side just in time to see Nora flying in and smashing the Death Stalker on the head with a hammer strike. The force of the blow knocked it to the ground, but it struck out with its stinger, forcing Nora to use another explosion-powered recoil to avoid the attack. Her backwards flight caused her to bump into Blake sending her plummeting over the side of the bridge. Ragna peered over the edge in time to catch a glimpse of the girl using her weapon to swing around to the other side of the gap.

"Uwaah, Ms. Nora! You knocked Ms. Blake over the edge!" Noel cried out, drawing Ragna's attention to her.

"You, head on over to the other side and help them out as well," he ordered his partner.

Although she had been helpful earlier in the forest, Ragna couldn't help but feel somewhat annoyed at Noel. It might have something to do with Bullet calling him useless or because she looked exactly like his missing sister…even if it was entirely illogical, Ragna found her irritating.

"But…" Noel protested.

Ragna grunted as he threw an uppercut, deflecting a side-swipe from the Death Stalker's pincer. "Just go already! It's not like you can do anything against the armor on this guy."

(_It was official, Bullet's words were definitely the source of his current annoyance._)

He turned to face Kagura who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What? You have a problem too? Focus on pinning down the right pincer if you're going to contribute," Ragna shot at him.

The boy parried an attack from the Death Stalker by planting his sword firmly into the ground and blocking. Looking completely unconcerned with their enemy at the moment, Kagura replied disapprovingly, "What's with you? It's alright to not like someone, but to be downright rude to a lady…that's unforgivable."

"It's none of your business," Ragna retorted.

The ground beneath them shifted unsteadily, the sound of crumbling stone warning the initiates of its impending collapse.

"Move!" Jaune commanded, charging in and deflecting a pincer swipe with his shield.

Pyrrha followed his example, blocking the second pincer. Kagura blocked the stinger with the broad side of his weapon as Lie Ren ran in, guns blazing. Ragna somersaulted and landed an axe kick directly on top of one of its eyes. He felt a satisfactory impact and heard a pained chitter as the softer target gave way under his boot.

"Get around it and try to force it off the cliff while it's still facing that direction."

(_What do you know? I suppose that girl was on to something when she said her partner wasn't useless. He might be weak, but he has a natural sense for tactics._)

While Ren distracted the monster by dancing around on top of its head and unloading round after round into its eyes and unarmored tail, Pyrrha and Jaune charge forwards with their shields raised, striking the Death Stalker from behind. However, the two of them only managed to push it forward slightly. Ragna ran forward to help, channeling energy through his right arm as he threw a punch, causing his fist to leave a trail of black flame-like mist in its wake. To his right, Kagura followed in at the same speed, swinging his weapon around in a wide arc which just barely missed Ragna.

"Stay out of my way!" Ragna shouted at him.

The boy grinned at him, "I was just about to say the same to you."

The two of them hit the Grimm at the same exact time, sending it stumbling forwards. The Death Stalker dug its hind legs deep into the ground to halt its movement, stopping just short of the drop. The sound of cracking stone intensified.

"Nora, now!"

At Jaune's command, Nora launched herself high into the air and came down with a ground-shaking attack, slamming her weapon into the earth just as the four melee fighters leaped backwards out of harm's way. Ren grabbed Nora while she was recovering from the swing and carried her to safety just as the edge of the cliff gave way and their enemy plummeted into the depths of the chasm.

(_And it's over…glad I didn't have to use _that_ in front of all these people…_)

* * *

Noel Vermillion blinked back tears, almost calming herself fully by the time she reached the girls fighting the Nevermore on the other side of the gap. Of all the possible partners she could have gotten, why'd she end up with that crass boy who never seemed to have anything good to say?

"You alright there?" Yang asked, taking a step forward and launching a ranged one-two combo with her gauntlets at the Nevermore as it circled around a tower. "I can head over there and give him a good punch to the gut for you if you want. Some guys require a little, er… housebreaking, before they're worth anything."

Noel shook her head. "It's fine," she answered, bringing Bolverk in front of her and firing a quick salvo.

Yang still looked skeptical, but she let the topic go with a shrug, "Alright then." After firing a couple more shots with her gauntlets, she groaned, "Agh! That monster is fast. It's dodging half the shots we fire at it!"

"I'll take care of that. Hold your fire for about thirty seconds."

Bullet stepped up with a wide predatory grin across her face. She raised her arms above her head, closed her eyes and concentrated for a second. Her eyes snapped open as she thrust her arms back down to her waist.

"Let's do this," she declared.

As she did, flames erupted from around her, causing Noel to take a step towards her in concern. It took her a moment to realize that the fire wasn't actually burning Bullet at all. The girl ran off, suddenly moving much faster than before.

"Aw, come on," Yang complained. "She totally ripped off _my_ power-up move!"

Whatever Bullet did, it was effective, because she effortlessly ran straight up the side of a tower and flipped onto the Nevermore's back as it flew by. Almost as soon as she landed, a spray of feathers flew into the air. The Grimm gave a pained caw and began to fly erratically to try and shake off the pest clinging to its wings.

"Is she…plucking it?" Ruby asked, walking up to Noel and her sister.

The shower of feathers floating down intensified.

Yang started laughing, "That girl…I can't tell if she's brave or just plain insane. I should have thought about doing that. And…it looks like that thing finally managed to throw her off."

Bullet had managed to pluck out a good number of the overgrown bird's wing feathers before she had been dislodged; its flying speed had slowed down dramatically. The girl grabbed one of the massive pinions floating down the sky as she fell past it and turned it into a make-shift parachute. Somehow guiding it through the air, she let go of the feather when she was a few feet above the ground and rolled to a stop near where the girls were currently gathered.

"Phew," Bullet sighed as she sat down. "Using that technique takes a lot out of me. You guys handle cleanup."

The way the girl made it sound like they were on kitchen duty made the group give each other bewildered looks before bursting into giggles. They were still in a life or death situation, but everything seemed more manageable all of a sudden.

It was a lot easier to hit the Nevermore now that its speed had been reduced. Because it was easier to pull off now, they decided to put Ruby's plan for taking down the monster into action. It certainly seemed a lot less risky now than it had a minute ago. Additionally, Noel was finally able to slip back into her combat state of mind, predicting the giant bird's flight path accurately and even taking into account its evasive maneuvers.

Not to be outdone by Bullet, Yang at one point actually jumped straight into the Grimm's open beak. Keeping its mouth open by jacking it up with her arm and legs, she emptied every round she had remaining straight down its throat. Yang jumped out just in time to avoid getting slammed into the cliff wall when the Nevermore spun out of control mid-flight. As she did, Noel connected the barrel of one of her guns to the back of the other half of Bolverk. A few mechanical clicks later, her guns had converted themselves into their secondary form.

Charging the weapon with her Aura, she took aim and fired, sending a thin beam of pure destruction into the Nevermore's wing right where it connected to its shoulder. Unable to maintain its flight, the monster fell back to the ground where Weiss froze it to the ground with the same attack she had used on the Death Stalker earlier.

Noel couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive as Blake and Yang set up what looked like a giant slingshot using the cable portion of Blake's weapon and two pillars which had miraculously escaped destruction.

"Is that really a smart idea?" she asked to the only person still around to talk to.

Bullet eyed the improvised set-up. "It should work," she decided. "Have to hand that little girl points for being fearless though. And it was a clever plan, even if much of it was left to chance."

The Nevermore's headless corpse slowly fell into the abyss after Ruby, with a lot of support from Weiss, dragged it up the entire cliff-side by the blade of her scythe. The girl herself stood at the top of the cliff, looking down at the rest of the initiates while a stiff breeze pulled her cloak to the side. Noel breathed a sigh of relief and sat down.

(_If this is just initiation, what are the classes like?_)

* * *

A muffled thud and a cascade of falling rubble echoed throughout the bottom of the abyss. Any noise was an infrequent event this deep down and something stirred in the darkness in response to the sound before returning to its slumber.

A minute later, a second impact sounded in the depths. This time, the creature rose from its slumber. The scent of blood which filled the air reminded it that it had been ages since it last gorged itself. The source of the commotion had come from above. And somewhere up there, it sensed a familiar presence, one which both called to it and repelled it at the same time. Curious, the creature rose and began to scale the cliff towards the light above.

The light was where the ones with souls existed. It was where _food_ existed.

* * *

Notes: Took a bit longer than I would have liked in order to get this chapter done. I had planned on finishing initiation with this chapter but it looks like it'll stretch just a little longer.


End file.
